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Discussion List

  • Introducing the Formula rim for CSR Elite

    • A lot of CSR Elite owners want to make use of the function to change the wheel rim on their wheel.

      Therefore we developed the formula rim for the CSR Elite wheel. 

      image

      This wheel rim is only available separately and as an add-on for the Forza Motorsport CSR Elite wheel.

      It features the same amount of buttons as the original wheel rim plus an additional 4-way joystick. Both joysticks have the same function on Xbox and PS3  but on PC it can be mapped with different functions.

      The grips are made with artificial leather which is easy to clean and feel great.

      Of course you will get the same robust metal construction and metal shifter paddles just like on the Formula rim for ClubSport Wheel. There is no quick release and the system is not designed to make rim changes very often. You need to unfasten two screws and unplug two cables so it is simple but it will take longer than the QR of the CSW. You also need to restart the wheel which means on PC you need to restart the game.

      It is required to update the firmware of the base to make this rim work but this is not complicated if you just have a PC. 

      The rim will be available in Q3 and sells for 179,95€ (inclusive VAT) in EU and 179,95 USD (excl. sales tax) in the USA.

      It is the only additional wheel rim planned for the CSR Elite at this point. We will now fully concentrate to make additional wheel rims for the ClubSport wheel. 

      image

       

       

    -1 comment 560 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • The countdown started


    • The embargo is over and more and more fantastic reviews are coming up. The testers did an incredible job but now it is our turn to deliver.


      We are ready to go and will launch the new website this week. This new website will also allow you to place orders for the CSW and CSP V2.


      We do have inventory of CSP V2 in both EU and USA and we also have small inventory of CSW and rims in EU. The ship for the US market arrives in a few days. We will have coming in more and more shipments by sea but there is a possibility that we will be short on inventory. 


      Tomorrow we will go offline so we can switch to the new website and intensively test it. The new website will go online on.


      Thursday 5.7.2012 at 12.00 pm (noon) German time

    -1 comment 122 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Community test of ClubSport Wheel: Round 5
    -1 comment 159 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Another BETA Driver: 128 UPDATE -> 129


    • We can now offer v128 which fixes many small issues as well as the game crashes.


      The Force Feedback engine was improved further.


      There is still a known issueif you click on the shortcut symbol on the desktop. If you go directly to the game controller property page it will not happen.


      Please report all issues you find so we can get the last issues sorted out.


      In perticular we would be interested how this version compares to alternative drivers you might have installed to run our wheels.


      Driver BETA 128


      UPDATE


      We now solved the rF2 crash and improved the code to stop "hanging" ff signals.


      We still have the issue when you click on the desktop symbol but that should be fixed soon. Please report what other issues you still find.


      Driver BETA 129

    -1 comment 162 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • WARNING: Latest Xbox 360 update could cause problems UPDATE


    • Several customers have reported issues with our wheels after they made the latest  update to their console.


      There is also a thread about these issues on forzamotorsport.net


      We are still investigating the issues so please report if you have suddenly problems on the Xbox console.


      Unfortunately this happened at the same time we released the new firmware so it was hard to see what caused the issues.


      Please do not make this update for your Xbox console until the situation is fully clear and we have a slution.


      In case you have problems after the latest Xbox update, it would be great if you report them here.


      What country?

      What wheel?

      What firmware version?

      Detailed description of the issue


       


      UPDATE


      We do not have an official confirmation yet but it seems that the latest Xbox update fixes the issues and the wheels work fine again.


      Thanks to Microsoft for the quick reaction on this matter.

    -1 comment 136 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • New beta firmware 742 and driver 125 with big changes for almost all Fanatec wheels UPDATE 3


    • The internal testing was succesful so far so we are now looking for external beta testers for our new firmware. These versions are clearly BETA versions so please install them only if you are an experienced user.


      Firmware 742BETA runs on the follwing wheels:

      • CSR
      • CSR Elite
      • 911 GT3 RS V2
      • 911 Turbo S
      • 911 GT2


      IMPORTANT: If you want to use the RF dongle (for PC and PS3) for your 911 GT2 or Turbo S wheel, please do not update, as with this version you can only use the USB connection afterwards.


      There is no firmware  update planned for the 911 Turbo (not S), 911 Carrera and 911 GT3RS V1.


       


      We made a lot of changes and these are some of them:

      • ACL added to all Wheels
      • 500 Hz update rate
      • Allows use of SDK to show telemetry data on Tuning display
      • Improved force feedback algorithms
      • Improved FF sensitivity around center position
      • Improved center spring
      • DPR and SPR calculation changed
      • Improved navigation in Tuning menu (keep pressing the up or down button)
      • Default Sensitivity = OFF (900°)
      • Changed button mapping to ensure compatibility to older games
      • New initialisation sequence to auto detect minimum ff level required for each individual wheel
      • fixed issue with hanging ff signals
      • Changed button combo for center calibration. Please follow manual of updater (included)


       


      If you use this on PC you also need to isntall the latest BETA version of our driver. Below you find version 125 for 32 and 64 bit.


      It also comes with a lot of changes and we fixed a lot of issues we had in the force feedback core of the driver.


      Like with the firmware, this version of the driver is only for eperienced users yet and not for the general public. Please report all issues you find right here so we can work on them before releasing the final versions.


      Please use this driver version only with 742


      Driver 126 BETA


      Firmware 742 BETA


       


      UPDATE 2:


      When you describe the porblem please make sure to give us the following basic information:

      1. What wheel?
      2. What operating system / platform?
      3. What game / platform shows the issue
      4. Describe the symptoms as detailed as possible


      Thi will help us toreproduce the problem.


      Make sure you take care of the following:

      • Disconnect the cables and reboot the wheel before you test
      • Bind wheel to Xbox again
      • Calibrate center
      • Caibrate shifter 
      • Check FW version to see if update worked


       


      We will summarize the bugs and list them here.


      UPDATE 3


      We  now have driver 126 BETA available which will fix some issues in pCARS and perhaps other games. The damper calculation is imporved to avoid the notchy feeling.


      If you have problems you can find the previeous fw versions here:


      CSR E 715

      CSR 706

      PWGT2 681

      PWGT3RSV2 681

      PWTS 681


       


       


       

    -1 comment 954 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • More testers for website needed - UPDATE


    • We are very close to release the new website and then we are finally able to start taking pre-orders for the CSW as well.


      If you are interested to help us finding the last remaining bugs please  just make a short post here and Marie will contact you with the log in data.


      Thank you very much in advance!


      UPDATE:


      Thanks for the great response. It is great to have such a helpful communities and so many helpful people. 


      We have almost 100 testers and this is enough to get it fully tested.  Fantastic!

    -1 comment 92 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • ClubSport Wheel Embargo Date


    • Next week the last of the community testers will receive their wheels so that the testing period can start. I wanted to give all testers at least 2 weeks for testing so that means that the embargo date of the Clubsport wheel and rims as well as the Clubsport Pedals V2 will end on June 29th at 13.00 German time.


      By that time we also expect that the first shipments of production units arrive in the USA and EU by air shipment. We will make a special launch offer but I will release more information about that as soon as the wheels are on the way so it is 100% sure that they arrive in time.


       

    -1 comment 88 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Great LED support in Live for Speed


    • Gerben has made good use of our SDK and made a fantastic implemention of our wheels in Live for Speed.


      In the video you can see what you can do with the LED display if it is supported by the game.


      In order to be able to properly show this telemetry data you need to upgrade the firmware of your wheel. We are therefore working on firmware updates for the following wheels:

      • 911 GT3RS V2
      • 911 Turbo S
      • 911 GT2
      • CSR
      • CSR Elite
      Aside from the LED support we will add more features but you will see very soon. 
    -1 comment 151 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Production of ClubSport wheel has started

    • We finally started the production of the ClubSport base and rims.

      The production preparation took longer than expected as we decided to make a lot of customized fixtures for each step in order to get maximum quality.

      You can see the production line in a short video I made with my mobile phone and posted on our Facebook page.

      www.Facebook.com/Fanatec

      We will start shipping in May so the first wheels will  arrive in our warehouses in June. We will not airship units this time. The pre-orders will start soon but I want the wheels on the boat so we know when they arrive.

      image

       

    -1 comment 127 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Introducing the new ClubSport Pedals V2

    • We thought about how to make something good even better and came up with the evolution of a legend. The ClubSport Pedals V2.

      The ClubSport Pedal was the first of our ClubSport product line which represent these values:

      • All metal construction
      • High-End technology
      • Outstanding industrial design
      • Unbeatable price performance 

      As you all know there will be more ClubSport products coming up and they all have to match the level of the CSPs.

      The new V2 version is rather an evolutiona than a complete new design because sometimes it is better not to change too much. Here are the new features:

      1. Look
      The pedals now come in anodized black and polished aluminum parts which gives it a more exclusive and classy touch. Of course the colour kits are fully compatible so you can change the look to all black or combine it with grey, orange red or blue.

      2. Hydraulic brake
      We have added an oil damper to the load cell brake to give it a more realistic and dampenend feeling. The feeling can be adjusted by replacing the silicone oil and use different viscosity and by changing the spring tension on the damper. It is simple but very effective. We also made the load cell brake stiffer and with a shorter travel by default.

      3. Degressive clutch mechanism
      Our Japanese friend Teki Ei-Ichi developed a new mechanism for the clutch for us. It gives you a degressive feel just like in a real car. Of course you can still adjust the spring strength.

      There is no Tuning Kit up to now but we will have a kit coming up later. We thought about an upgrade kit as well but there are too many parts to replace so it would be quite expensive and it would be very complicated to install. The CSP achieve good prices at eBay so we doubt that it would be worth to offer such a kit as V1 owners would not save much money but have the hassle of installation and end up with a product with the old look and used parts. Therefore we decided not to offer such an upgrade kit and I hope you agree.

      The CSP V2 will be shipped together with the ClubSport Wheel and we expect the first shipment in USA, EU and AUS in June. We will start taking pre-orders from our new website in May.

      Price: 249,95 € (incl VAT) in EU and 249,95 USD (excl sales tax) in USA. Australian prices still need to be determined.

      Thanks to Amar for the great pictures and to Björn who made the spectacular video.

    -1 comment 508 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Community test for Clubsport Wheel: Round 4


    • Almost all polls are closed so we are almost ready to start ROUND 4 of the community test for our new ClubSport Wheel and ClubSport Pedals V2.


      Let the tests begin!


      We have received the air shipment of the ClubSport Wheels with rims along with brand new ClubSport Pedals V2. I will show you more details about this pedal very soon but you can also expect to see some reviews as well if some testers decide to test them. 


      Sean will now start to ask all testers what equipment they like to test.


      Congratulations to all winners of the polls! It was a close call in many forums and we have a lot of very interesting reviewers.

    -1 comment 82 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Display support for ClubSport Wheel in iRacing EDIT: ...and pCARS


    • Steaphan Turpin made a plug in for iRacing to show different settings in the Tuning display of the ClubSport Wheel.


      You can also see the rev lights working on the Formula rim for the first time.  Please note that the intensity of theblue LEDs will be increased in mass production. On the video the first 3 LEDs on the left appear to be red but they are yellow.


      He used the Lotus 79 on Virginia raceway and on the display you can see the current fuel consumption.


      Together with the wheels for the community testers we will send wheels to all major racing game developers along with our SDK so you can expect broad support in all the upcoming new hot titles.


      EDIT: With the latest build of pCARS our wheels also show the current gear while driving. Mike made a video to show that feature in his fantastic racing setup.


      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_videoeditor&v=cIkPxK8PIps


       

    -1 comment 267 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Community test for ClubSport Wheel: Round 3

    • We finally started ROUND 3 with the polls to select the community testers.Thank you very much for the great interest and participation in not less than 32 simracing forums of many counties.

      This is probably the biggest community review ever made for simracing hardware and I would like to thank everybody for the application and the efforts they already made to introduce themselves. I am also very happy about the choice we made with the CTMs as they are doing a superb job.

      Sean will update a list to the threads here so you can have quick access to all the ongoing polls.

      CTM: Adam Flockton
      Forum: Codemasters forums
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Goose83

      CTM: Christiaan van Beilen
      Forum: GTPlanet forums
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Mayaman

      CTM: Sean Cebron
      Forum: F-wheel.com forums
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Intimidat3er421

      CTM: Brent Bundy
      Forum: iRacing
      Link: CLICK
      Winners: Todd Bettenhausen, Steve Claeys, Ryan Terpstra

      CTM: Yeison Peralta
      Forum: Apex Racing League
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: AC_Simps

      CTM: Jon Wethen
      Forum: North American Grand Prix
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Ezza

      CTM: Christophe Godek
      Forum: RacingFR
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: AvereLL

      CTM: Sebastian Keijmel
      Forum: DigitalRacing.nl
      Link: CLICK 

      CTM: Michael Herrmann 
      Forum: KonsolenRacer
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Fong74

      CTM: Daniel Schumacher
      Forum: PSX-racing.de
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Mike Voigt

      CTM: Astrid Winter
      Forum: Bockbierbude
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: BladeRunner74

      CTM: Marcel Kleene
      Forum: F1-2010-forum.de
      Link: CLICK 
      Winner: sirschmock

      CTM: Zac Burke
      Forum: ApexSpeed
      Link: CLICK 
      Winner: Keith Carter

      CTM: Remco van Dijk 
      Forum: NoGripRacing
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: zilk1221
      Forum: WMD (Project CARS)
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: chrisracer

      CTM: Nicola Trivilino
      Forum: DrivingItalia.net
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Schummy1

      CTM: Steven Ciofalo
      Forum: ISI Forums
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: John Crichton

      CTM: Ceth (also known as Neelrocker and Madcat)
      Forum: Hardware.fr
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: gus84
      Forum: Nextgen-auto.com
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: little 
      Forum: Clubic.com
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: kpla46

      CTM: Radek Żukowski 
      Forum: SimRacing PL
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: LesiU

      CTM: Peer Dorn
      Forum: gtrp.de
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Rudi Raser

      CTM: Kevin Orthey
      Forum: Virtualracing.org
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Henning Piez
      Forum: VO-Racing.de
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Daniel A.

      CTM: Michael Haidorf
      Forum: Simracing Deutschland e.V.
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Guenter Wirges
      Forum: racersleague.com
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Mauritio Mellies

      CTM: Stefan Kremer 
      Forum: Eutechnyx forums
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Flanna

      CTM: Alexander Prus (thepatriots)
      Forum: US PlayStation Boards
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Choate51

      CTM: Darren Blythe 
      Forum: SimHQ
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: F19_CoNa

      CTM: Gianni Longhin
      Forum: LFS ITALIAN COMMUNITY
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: ale85

      CTM: Jani Grundström
      Forum: Varikkosuora.org
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: OdeFinn

      CTM: Iñigo Roger Chalmeta
      Forum: MundoGT.es
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: IRT-KIOSKO

      CTM: Roger Billings
      Forum: InsideSimRacing.tv
      Link: CLICK 
      Winners: Seahawks1Fan, GoCart Death, mikemav

      CTM: Luke Longnecker
      Forum: NeoGAF
      Link: CLICK
      Winner: Yoritomo

       

      On several forums we had more then 10 applications so the CTMs have chosen 10 finalists without our influence. We think that this is the best way to choose an objective tester which is as unbiased and independent as possible. If you still think that we can improve something, please let me know.

      I would like to take the opportunity to wish everybody a happy Easter!

      Happy egg hunt on my blog ;)

       

      Thomas

       

       

    -1 comment 118 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • What rim do you want?


    • Let's talk about future wheel rims for the ClubSport wheel.


      We are currently working on four rims of which two of them have been announced already. I would like to encourage you to let me know what rims you like most and what functions they should have like

      • Amount of buttons
      • Amount of shifter paddles (analog and/or buttons)
      • Material of rim
      • Material and colours of the inner rim
      • Diameter
      • Weight
      • Target price
      • ?


      Just let me know whatever you think might be helpful. We have almost no technical limitation on the ClubSport Base.


      These are the rims which are currently under development or in planning phase:

      • BMW GT2
      • FORMULA
      • NASCAR
      • Classic (wood)
      • Classic F1
      • F1 licensed
      • F1 generic
      • LMP1
      • Drift
      • Rallye
      • Porsche GT
      • Simrace special (not realistic but optimized for performance)


      Please note that the order does not indicate any priorities. It can take several years until all rims will be ready for production.


      For the CSR Elite wheel we will introduce the Formula rim for sure and depending on the success of this add-on we will release a GT rim as well. The electronics of the CSR Elite wheel are limited so we cannot have a proper quick release, rev light indicators, analog joystick, encoder switches or the same amount of buttons like on the CSW rims. The CSR E rims have to follow exactly the same specs as the original wheel.


      So please let me know what you want and we will do our best to deliver those rims in the next years.


      PS: We will not make adapters to connect other wheel rims as this brings too many technical problems and issues with warranty and safety.

    -1 comment 255 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Pricing of ClubSport Wheel series


    • As we are getting the final manufacturing cost I can confirm the final pricing of the ClubSport Wheel series.


      Prices are as usual in Euro with VAT included and in USD without sales tax.


      ClubSport Wheel Base: 449,95


      BMW GT2 rim: 249,95


      Formula rim: 179,95


      This is just the beginning so there will be much more rims coming up at a lower and higher price. Pricing for Japan, Australia and Canada will be announced at a later date.


      We are considering to fly in some wheels so this would increase cost a bit but we need to get final quotations for airfreight first.


       


       

    -1 comment 148 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • The perfect simracing location


    • Last week I have been at the Hockenheim ring to present two of our RennSport Cockpits with a new racing simulation (not from EA or MS) in the pit which was used by Sebastian Vettel at the last F1 GP in (edit:) 2010.


      The track was used for testing the new Porsche Cup cars for both the Carrera and the Supercup so we had the pleasure to be surrounded by the fastest 911s.


      At this point I cannot tell you anything more about the new racing simulation other that it looked great and the Porsche Cup drivers had a lot fun driving with it. The lap times were very similar.

    -1 comment 154 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Community test for ClubSport Wheel: Round 2


    • We finally get the ball rolling and start ROUND 2 of the community test of our new ClubSport Wheel Base and the Formula and BMW GT2 rims.


      Sean Cebron, or better known as Sonac of f-wheel.com, will take over the handling for all these tests and will notify the appointed community test managers today.


      Here you find a list of all CTMs and the communities they are handling. As soon as Sean receives the link of the forum where to put your application to be selected in the polls will also be listed here.


      CTM: Adam Flockton

      Forum: Codemasters forums

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Christiaan van Beilen

      Forum: GTPlanet forums

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Sean Cebron

      Forum: F-wheel.com forums

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Zac Burke

      Forum: ApexSpeed

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Jon Wethen

      Forum: North American Grand Prix

      Link: CLICK  


      CTM: Yeison Peralta

      Forum: Apex Racing League

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Radek Żukowski 

      Forum: SimRacing PL

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Remco van Dijk 

      Forum: NoGripRacing

      Link: CLICK

      Forum: WMD (Project CARS)

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Stefan Kremer 

      Forum: Eutechnyx forums

      Link: CLICK CLICK CLICK

      Forum: PC GAMES HARDWARE EXTREME

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Michael Herrmann 

      Forum: KonsolenRacer

      Link: CLICK



      CTM: RaceRabbit

      Forum: OvalEggRacing.com

      Link: (Edit: Easter is over but we will release the firmware soon)


      CTM: Steven Ciofalo

      Forum: ISI Forums

      Link: CLICK 

      Forum: RaceDepartment

      Link: (EDIT: Link removed because Racedepartment does not support community reviews)


      CTM: Daniel Schumacher

      Forum: PSX-racing.de

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Christophe Godek

      Forum: RacingFR

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Astrid Winter

      Forum: Bockbierbude

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Brent Bundy

      Forum: iRacing

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Gianni Longhin

      Forum: LFS ITALIAN COMMUNITY

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Sebastian Keijmel

      Forum: DigitalRacing.nl

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Jani Grundström

      Forum: Varikkosuora.org

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Marcel Kleene

      Forum: F1-2010-forum.de

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Michael Haidorf

      Forum: Simracing Deutschland e.V.

      Link: CLICK

      Forum: racersleague.com

      Link: CLICK 

      CTM: Ceth (also known as Neelrocker and Madcat)

      Forum: Hardware.fr

      Link: CLICK

      Forum: Nextgen-auto.com

      Link: CLICK 

      Forum: Clubic.com

      Link: CLICK  


      CTM: Darren Blythe 

      Forum: SimHQ

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Alexander Prus (thepatriots)

      Forum: US PlayStation Boards

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Nicola Trivilino

      Forum: DrivingItalia.net

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Kevin Orthey

      Forum: Virtualracing.org

      Link: CLICK

      Forum: VO-Racing.de

      Link: CLICK


      CTM: Peer Dorn

      Forum: gtrp.de

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Iñigo Roger Chalmeta

      Forum: MundoGT.es

      Link: CLICK 


      CTM: Roger Billings

      Forum: InsideSimRacing.tv

      Link: CLICK 

      CTM: Luke Longnecker

      Forum: NeoGAF

      Link: CLICK  


       


      We have selected plenty of forums so you should see a lot of unbiased and independent reviews coming up for the CSW. The wheels for the testers are already produced and on the way to our warehouses so testing can start very soon. 

    -1 comment 385 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Time for some news on the ClubSport Shifter

    • It is time to let you know that this project is still alive and we are making good progress.

      I will not reveal any details at this point but this nice picture from our development department is too nice not to post it. :)

    -1 comment 232 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • 911 GT3 RS Elite edition now available


    • We are now introducing the latest technology all packed into one attractive bundle.


      It is basically the combination of the 911 GT3 RS V2 wheel plus  the CSR Elite pedals.


      No other wheel can offer the combination of the following features at the price of just 259,95:

      • Big 30 cm wheel rim
      • Genuine Alcantara like in the real cars
      • Belt drive
      • Tuning functions
      • Fully adjustable metal pedals
      • Load cell brake technology


      And much more.


       

    -1 comment 86 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Forza news
    -1 comment 58 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Community test for Clubsport Wheel: Round 1 - UPDATE 2
    -1 comment 276 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • New driver version 116 available


    • We have a new Beta version of the PC driver for all wheels.


      Change log:


      1. FFB damper effect now available (and reimplemented, from SW -> HW)

      2. FFB damper and spring effects now could be played simultaneously (due to layering in HW)

      3. Auto-center spring disabled completely from driver and property sheet (for all wheel models)

      4. Diagonal D-pad arrows hidden for CSR and CSR-E models


      Please have a look at it and let me know if you have any issues. Thanks!

    -1 comment 325 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite review on VirtualR.net


    • The simracing experts on VirtualR.net have posted a review of the Forza Motorsport CSR Elite Wheel.


      If you want to read it then I don't want to tell too much about the test results but it seems that they were not unhappy about it:


      "...it's safe to say that the CSR Elite is the new benchmark for upper-market steering wheels."


      http://www.virtualr.net/fanatec-csr-elite-wheel-review


       


       

    -1 comment 125 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Webprogrammers wanted


    • In order toi finalize the new website we need more ressources to implement some special features.


      Therefore we are looking for programmers who are very familiar with VBulletin and/or OpenCart.


      If you know somebody, please help us and bring us in contact. Thanks!

    -1 comment 68 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR is back and more attractive than ever


    • The Forza Motorsport CSR wheel is back in stock and it now comes with two special editions.


      Due to large production volumes we were able to reduce the manufacturing cost and we are finally able to offer a serious Xbox racing wheel for below 200,00 (at least a little bit below).


      The price for the CSR wheel is now reduced to just 199,95 and it now comes with an adapter for the G25 / G27 pedals.


      The CSR Value pack is now priced at just 249,95 and comes with the CSR wheel and CSR pedals.


      And finally we offer the ultimate performance bundle CSR Value Pack XL of CSR wheel, CSR Elite Pedals and the CSR Shifter Set for just 359,95 instead of 459,95. Remember that you get a multi platform and belt driven wheel, load cell brake and two metal shifters and much more.

      • CSR wheel: 199,95
      • CSR Value Pack: 249,95
      • CSR Value Pack XL: 359,95


      All prices are USD and Euro where the USD price does not include sales tax and the Euro price includes VAT. 


      I can also confirm that we will bring a new  firmware version for the CSR wheel with autoclutch and this feature will remain exclusive to the CSR and CSR Elite wheel.

    -1 comment 189 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Fanatec shown in Porsche commercial

    • Porsche made a commercial to promote the new 911 but the real star was not the car...

      Our Porsche 911 GT2 wheel with ClubSport pedals is the key element in the video called "Forever the dream". ;)

      Now you will see several variations of "Forever ..." and guess what picture you see when they mention the  the subline "Forever the dream".

       

    -1 comment 93 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Join the Fanatec Club at FM4 -UPDATE


    • Our little Fanatec Club is growing bigger and bigger and we are happy to welcome any Fanatec wheel owners to join this club and to do some online racing.


      It was foundet by Pete Totnes (a big thanks to Pete!) and our current president is Sven alias Simplay79 who created the RennSport Cockpit.


      We now have 75 members and 154 shared cars and you also have the chance to race against some Fanatec employees. This includes myself although I have  a hard time to keep up with the best guys in this club and am an easy victim.


      This Club is about fun so we have a big variety of performace levels and everybody will find a somebody to compete and have fun with.


      The current ranking is

      Tracks: 197 of 175653

      Oval: 346 of168.194

      Drift: 4237 of 174.868

      Drag racing: 302 of 125.979



      This is not the best of the best but not that bad either. As you can see we would still need some drifters to join us.


      We also have great designers on board and some shared cars have a fantastic design.


      You find the Club if you search for "FANA" in the community section of FM4.


      Let's race!


      UPDATE


      It seems that the club is full but we want to open more clubs. Please discuss all Club related things in this thread:


      http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/2/5045777/ShowThread.aspx


       


       

    -1 comment 121 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite animation

    • A very nice video to enjoy unboxing in a very different way.

      Björn made this video in the stop motion technique. This reminds me on czech made Pan Tau cartoons :)         

    -1 comment 67 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite sold out (temporarily)


    • The huge demand for this wheel does not stop so we are still importing wheels with UPS to keep us with the demand.


      But in China, all factories are closed now due to Chinese New Year holidays so that the shipments come to an end for a little while.


      So the next shipments of this wheel arrive in late February. Several people asked me when we expect to get more units in by sea freight and lower the price. It seems that this won't happen before summer as the upcoming production of the CSW will use up the extra production capacity we are building up now.


      The electronics of the CSW is still under revision and we need to do more testing so we are now looking at a late Q1 production start. 


       

    -1 comment 135 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite on CES

    • The CSR Elite had a great appearance on CES at the booth of Nvidia. They were mounted on the VRX full motion simulators and of course Nvidia added the best PCs so that they were running iRacing with triple and 3D monitors.

      And this is a guy from AMD checking out the system: 

      Robert of VRX also made an interview for Gamespot where you see more footage of it. Thanks for the great footage and congratulations for the sperb looking cockpits to Robert.

    -1 comment 78 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Wheel Rim Ergonomy Comparison

    • We made an interesting comparison between different popular wheel rims on the market to compare the following parameters:

      • Number of mappable buttons on the wheel rim
      • Amount of buttons within easy reach of the thumb
      • Diameter of the rim

      In order to be as scientific as possible we took to show the grasp reach of the thumb of an average adult male. 

      We then took this area and mapped it on the different rims to show how many buttons you can actually reach without moving your hand from the driving position.

      Please note that D-pads only count 4 functions as the diagonal functions are actually not independent buttons. We also considered only buttons which can be mapped with functions in the game and not system buttons like our Tuning button or the PS button.

      image

      image

      I will leave it up to you to interprete this data. Of course this does not mean that I think that there is nothing to improve on our wheel rims. I just wanted to put things relative to what is state of the art at the moment.

      Attached is a full size picture of the graphics.

    -1 comment 172 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Thank you for a fantastic year 2011

    • It is time to thank all of you for a fantastic year 2011.

      THANK YOU 

      It was the best year in the history of Endor in many respects.

      Our product palette is stronger and better than ever. We have successfully launched the new CSR product line and we even kept ourpromised deadlines (surprise!).

      The quality of the products has improved significantly and we also got a lot of good feedback about improvements on our service.

      The CSR ELite is new milestone in the simracing market and fits perfectly not only to the great Forza Motorsport 4 which was launched this year.

      Our customer and fanbase is stronger than ever and the brand Fanatec is now well established as premium supplier for simracing equipment.

      A lot of our early customers were standing with us although they were suffering the negative impacts of our fast growth. For all those who supported us and are still with us, I would like to express a special thanks.

      Last but not least I would like to thank everybody who helped us to make all this happen. My fanatstic team around the globe (special regards to Simi Valley), all beta and community testers and also all suppliers, business partners and investors. It takes a lot to get things done and everybody plays an important role. 

      Despite all the achiements we made this year there is still a lot of work to be done and we still need to deliver some things we actually wanted to have done this year:

      • Webshop distribution in Japan and Australia
      • The new Fanatec website
      • ClubSport Wheel
      • ClubSport shifter
      • ClubSport Handbrake
      • (Edit:) Alternative CSR E wheel rims

      While the ClubSport Handbrake is almost done we have made some major changes on the CSW electronics which require new testing procedures. The CSS has undergone a major revision as well to exceed todays market requirements.

      So the remaining goals for 2011 are the main targets for 2012. Of course we also plan some more surprises but step by step, please.

      I am looking forward to a great year 2012 with all of you and I am looking forward to some very exciting things to come.

      Simracing is certainly not essential for survival and sometimes we should keep that in mind if things get emotional in forums.

      It is a luxury that we are lucky enough that we can afford to spend our time with this. We all do it for fun and pleasure and I am thankful that we have the privilege to do this.

      Happy new year!

      All the best,

      Thomas

    -1 comment 86 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • The year ends with a new Firmware for the CSR Elite (721 B)


    • There is one things left to be done this year and we made it in the last hours of 2011 to come up with a new firmware for the CSR Elite.


      We have no more known issues but it is not fully tested yet so the release is classified as "BETA" version. We also have a new firmware updater which is more easy to use and  more compatible to all relevant Windows versions. But please make sure you read the instuctions which are included.


      Please let me know how this version works for you.


       

    -1 comment 267 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite belt system

    • As some CSR E customers are a little bit confused about the new belt system, I would like to clearify a few things.

      The new belt system is independent from the steering sensor so that the belts have no influence on the performance of the wheel on track.

      The belts have no ribs and by can slip a little bit. This can also cause some noise which can disappear after a while. If you move the wheel over the steering axis limiter is is likely that the belt slips and some noise occurs.
      Slipping belts are completely harmelss and do not have any negative impact on performance and reliability.

      We could avoid this by increasing the belt tension on the motor belts but this would bend the motor axis and will cause more friction. This can in fact have negative impact on reliability. 

      The belts tension is adjustable but this is only because we need this during production.

      Do not adjust the belt tension by yourself!

      Adjusting the belt tension is complicated and you can make things easily worse.

    0 comments 686 views 1 comment Most recent by wesley Dresken Subscribe to this blog
  • ISR review of the CSR Elite


    • There are a lot of rumors going on and i would like to give you some first hand information so you can make up your mind.


      There is also a thread on the ISR forum and I would like to reply to that.


      http://www.insidesimracing.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=5873


      1. It is true that we did not send a review unit yet. At the same time it is also true that no other press account have received a review unit so far.


      2. As matter of fact, I am trying to arrange a call with Shaun to disccuss a few things which are related to our relationship with ISR. I never made any conditions how they have to make this review but there are other issues we need to get sorted out. This is about ISR and Fanatec and has nothing to do with the employment of Darin.


      This call did not happen so far.


      3. ISR waited several months for a GT5 review and still waits with the FM4 review and the official reason was to wait until the develooper was able to patch the game and solve all major issues. ISR already complained about the driver so why is there such a rush to review the wheel ?


      4. ISR decided to stop doing Fanatec reviews with Darin as soon as Darin worked for us. This is a very reasonable policy so why would they want to change that after Darin explicitely mentioned that the relationship ended "so so"?

      If ISR makes a review now many people would expect that they do it without Darin in their own interest so this is something I did not even mention and certainly not ask for.


      5. I am very happy to work with ISR but unfortunately Darin announced that ISR will make no more reviews of Fanatec products. I accept this decision although I regret it. ISR has always been a great partner and good source for simracing reviews.

      It is a very unfortunate decision for the community as well. Many people were looking forward to that review


      This is the reason why you will probably not see a review of the CSR Elite. But perhaps I will get a phone call and the situation changes. In any case, I will try to arrange other professional simracing reviewers to have a look at the wheel and the community reviews are of great quality and may be more objective than anything out there.


       

    -1 comment 107 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Firmware 715 for CSR Elite UPDATE 2


    • The first CSR Elite wheels have arrived at the customers and in order to give them a perfect experience from day 1 we are releasing 715 right away.


      The new updater is not 100% ready yet but works much better than the old one and runs stable on Vista and Windows 7.


      Please read the manual inside the .zip file and follow it carefully. This is really important to assure a smooth installation. 


      715 will bring several  improvements and bugfixes.

      • Issue with shifter paddles on Xbox360
      • Imporved force feedback effects
      • Autoclutch
      • Improved damper on PC and PS3. PC needs a driver for further imporvement but this will follow soon. 


      This version is only compatible with CSR Elite but we are working on a similar version for the CSR, PWGT2 and PWTS wheels.


      Enjoy your CSR ELite with 715!


      UPDATE: Video manual in french. Thanks to our community tester Homed!


      http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn1h66_procedure-mise-a-jour-du-firmware-pour-le-fanatec-csr-elite_videogames?start=0#from=embediframe


      If anybody would like to make a video manual in a different language Ican post it here as well.


      UPDATE 2:


      English fw upgrade manual made by Patrick Spence. Thanks a lot!



       

    -1 comment 439 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E benchmarked


    • We have received several great reviews but I would like to highlight the benchmark made by sonac because this has never been done before.


      He posted his brilliant summary in  his blog at the Fanatec fansite:


      http://f-wheel.com/reviews/csr-elite-wheel-benchmarked


      It is important that you read the text as looking at the figures alone will not give you the full picture.The PWT2 and PWGT3RS fall back in this test because of their heavy wheel rim.The title of the test 1.1 is also a bit misleading as instead of just FF strength, this test shows a combination of strength, speed and reaction time.


      The results are pretty obvious and makes  the CSR E the fastest and strongest wheel with the most linear force feedback curve and smallest FF deadzone on the market.


      It also shows how low the friction of the system is which is important to feel even the smallest sensations.


      If I am looking at the chart of the  chart of the 1.1 test, I am wondering if you can also draw any conclusions from this test in regards to the precision of the steering axis. Perhaps somebody wants to investigate that...


       

    -1 comment 91 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite pre-orders online again UPDATE 1


    • Time for several good news:


      All pre-ordered wheels have arrived in both the EU and USA. In the USA we are still waiting for customs clearing but Eu is done and we will be starting shipping out wheels from tomorrow. Wheels will be shipped no matter if we have other items which have been ordered with it on stock or not.


      We except the US clearance to be done anytime as well but it is not in our hands and US customs is a bit difficult sometimes.


      We also are about to receive a second shipment so that we will have more inventory which will be shipped out before Christmas. This is true for both the US as well as the EU webshhop. As the situation is the US is not 100% under control yet we will start offering the wheel in Europe first.


      Quantity is extremely limited so grab your wheel before we have to take it offline again. 


      UPDATE 1


      The US wheels cleared customs as well and are on the way to the warehouse.


      This means we also open the pre-order for the US webshop. 


      A note for Canadian customers. We can only promise that the wheels which are pre-ordered now will leave our warehouse before Christmas but it depends on Canadian customs how fast you will have it at your door. We are currently setting up a Canadian warehouse and webshop so that we can avoid such problems in future.

    -1 comment 134 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Forza Motorsport CSR Elite Wheel Community Reviews UPDATE 7
    -1 comment 209 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • FM4 review embargo and recommended settings after the patch


    • We finally got the community test wheels out of the US customs. Although we shipped EU and US at the same time, it took ages until UPS managed to get things done and so these wheels arrive just a few days ahead of the regular first shipment to customers. 


      Good thing is that we learned from this trial run so we can avoid such a situation for the customer wheels.


      The review embargo for the Forzs Motorsport CSR Elite wheel will end this Saturday at 18.00 CET (German time).


      The recommended settings have changed after the patch.


      The steering mode "simulation" let all cars oversteer more easily. Even the slowest Nissan Datsun 510 going uphill on Fujimi Kaido will oversteer easily although the power of the car is not enough to go higher than second gear most of the time. Do an oval track with a Mercedes C63 and you will fly off in every corner. Tim Schrick mentioned the tendency to oversteer the virtual M5 already on his comparision to the real car and he was using the old simulation mode.


      I think the problem is not the oversteering but calling the mode "simulation". If T10 would have chosen "drift mode" it would have been more appropriate and still makes sense as it is fun to play. Remember: difficult not equal to realistic.


      If you want to have more realistic car behavior and be faster than in the old simulation mode, you need to turn the steering mode to "normal" now.


      If you stay in "simulation" mode it helps to turn down the sensitivity to 270° or even lower to 180° to make ultra fast movements. This is not recommended [edit] for smooth drivers!


      Button clutching:


      To map a button to work as an analog axis is ok as long as it does not bring any speed advantage. Due to the many complains of our customers and the absolutely legitimate desire to stay competitive with a wheel against a user with a controller we decided to ...


      (to be continued in the CSR E reviews)

    -1 comment 328 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Pedals and CSR Value pack delivery


    • We just received the shipment of the CSR pedals in Europe and USA and we will start shipping to customers right away.


      The back orders in Europe were too high to deliver all open orders. All orders placed after the 28th of November will be served with the next shipment which should arrive later this week.

    -1 comment 77 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E and CSW production UPDATE 1


    • More CSR Elite shipments will leave China next week and those shipments should arrive before Christmas as well. The delay on the community test wheels showed us problems with paperwork which we can avoid for future shipments. The last community testers should get their wheels by middle of next week so expect the embargo to end on Friday 9.12. at 18.00 CET (German time).


      We will have enough wheels to fullfil all pre-orders and even more to start taking pre-orders again soon. But we will only do that once all open orders are shipped or at least 100% safe.


      As we are now in control of the CSR E production in terms of quantity and quality we can now focus on the ClubSport Wheel (CSW) and both rims.

      Production for CSW is now planned to start in January but we just added more features and a new PCBA design which should improve quality. This new design is not fully tested yet so I cannot confirm any date yet.

      Due to our good UPS freight rates we will offer direct import from China by UPS so shortly after production we should be able to ship wheels.

      Best case: January

      Worst case: April


      After that we fully take care about the ClubSport handbrake and shifter and they should follow quickly once we really concentrate on them. Multitasking is usually delaying all projects to make so making things in a sequence is surprisingly faster very often.


      The nice surprises we have for the CSS will compensate you for waiting.


       


      UPDATE:


      We are about to receive the first CSR E shipment early next week in both US and EU so if everything goes smoothly we can ship all open orders next week.


      There are more wheels to come before the end of the year so we will start taking pre-orders again very soon.


       

    -1 comment 119 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • New FM4 improves Fanatec wheel support and fixes no-credit bug

    • Today, Turn 10 has released a patch for Forza Motorsport 4 which fixes the no-credit issue and also the countersteering issue.

      Adapting the game to our wheels seem to be very important for our partners at Turn 10 and we are very happy about that. Thanks to all of you to who helped us to identify the problems.

      Please read all the details directly from an interview with Dan.

      http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/underthehood5/

      My personal experience after just 3 races is that driving became more challenging.  But in World Tour i got bored quickly so I am happy that the AI seems to be faster and driving more challenging. If it is more realistic I have to find out by doing more laps and of course I would have to do more real world comparisons with all those cars in my (virtual) garage. :)

       

    -1 comment 108 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Darin Gangi no longer working for Endor


    • This is a sad day for us because our latest team member Darin Gangi has left the team today. Darin is also the partial owner of SRT Media which produces insidesimracing.tv on Youtube.


      He has to take care of the show and we were not able to solve this conflict of interest. 


      Darin will always stay a close firend of us and we will be happy to support his show. I wish him all the best for his work. In the short period he worked for us he gave us valuable input how to imporve our service and products and we will miss him.

    -1 comment 165 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite review embargo ends soon

    • The embargo for unboxing videos and reports ends today at 20.00 CET. As soon as you detect such a repor, make sure to post here in the comments!

      The embargo for reviews is supposed to end next Saturday but in the US there was an issue with the shipment so not all testers have received their wheels yet. If this problem cannot be solved today and the wheels arrive in time, I will postpone the review.

      This will give the community testers also more time to get familiar with the new firmware which will be released this week.

      About shipping status: We have wheels on the way to the US and EU but I will not tell you how many and if you are part of this shipment or not. I hope that all customers understand that we are very busy at the moment and cannot give a daily status on every single order. All open CSR E orders are supposed to be shipped before Christmas as promised. I will report as the first wheels are ready to be depatched to our customers. Everybody is excited and so are we. :)

    -1 comment 123 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Another funny tradition: Cyber Monday

    • I love the American innovators to make people buy something. After Black Friday comes "Cyber Monday".

      As our Black friday offer was such a huge success we are also offering a special which is valid just today:

      Porsche 911 GT3 RS Cyber Monday Edition

      You get:

      • Porsche 911 GT3RS V2
      • CSR Elite Pedals (yes, the ones with load cell)
      • Porsche Shifter set

      We get:

      Just 249,95 USD / EUR instead of the regular 359,85. This is a discount of  30,5%!

      Let's see when we will get a Pink Saturday or Space Tuesday.

      And because discounts are great in the long run as well, we are permanently lowering the price of the Porsche 911 Carrera Wheel to 99,95€ in Europe.  (until supply lasts)

      Here is a review about this wheel

    -1 comment 235 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite pre-orders stopped


    • We a are being overun by CSR Elite orders so unfortunatley we have to cut off taking pre-orders for the CSR E.


      Our production is running full speed but demand is exceeding supply. We will start flying in the wheels from next week and will ship all open orders before Christmas as promised.


      As soon as we can see when we can bring in more wheels, we  will take the pre-orders again.


      This situation is also affecting the ClubSport wheel as the metal parts are the bottleneck. If we would offer the ClubSport wheel now, the situation would just get "worse" so we decided to expand our production first in order to make sure we can deliver the high demand for these wheels.

    -1 comment 99 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Black Friday: RennSport Wheel Stand just 69,95!


    • Black Friday is the friday after Thanksgiving and a popular day in the USA to start the Christmas season for many shops.


      As giving a discount is somthing our European customers will aprreciate as well are we offering a Black Friday Special this year. This offer is only avaliable for today.


      RennSport Wheel Stand V2: 69,95 USD / €uro


      This is a discount of up to 46% on this product and this offer is only available until supply lasts.


       

    -1 comment 100 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E and CSW drilling templates


    • Attached you will find two drilling templates to mount the Forza Motorsport CSR Elite Wheel and the ClubSport Wheel to a cockpit or Wheel Stand.


      Both wheels come with an adapter unit which makes the wheels compatible to the mounts of the Porsche wheel series.


      If you want to mount it on a table you need to get the ClubSport table clamp. This will give you a rock solid mount with adjustable angle.


       

    -1 comment 686 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog